Beer: Reviews & Ratings

A bit murky and copper filled amber to rust brown body. Two finger creamy tan head, but barely manages two fingers off the pour. Seems to settle nicely to a simple top. Pretty basic, not even much noticeable carbonation, slightly lifeless but otherwise ok.

Aroma is kind of wet and grainy with some classic touches. Grainy and very light crusty brown bread but drier and more towards flour. Hints of some sweet graham cracker but with a chalky bit of an angle. Some slight fruity notes bouncing between esters and hop, but seems to lean more towards the yeast component, then turns to an almost grapefruit to tropical.

Mouthfeel is just lousy a bit, and there is just not much going on here. Malt depth completely lost on a watery body and flat mineral carbonated like finish. Rocky aftertaste and not much malt flavor going on here at all. Some dry biscuit but very hard to pick out on the palate. Cola like finish a bit on the sweetness as well. Weird finish, and flavor palate, almost like a malt flat soda.

Gorgeous copper color and a nice frothy head. Slight smell of malt. Full flavor with a zestiness to it and hints of grain. The finish is a touch bitter. Not too much carbonation. I also really enjoy the colorful naming and bottle with this. It's a good tasting ale with a conversation starter name and idea. Good stuff. (328 characters)

Aroma is candy/fruit and mild notes of citrus and earthy malts. The flavor is citrus, fruit, corn, malts and a mildly bitter/tangy finish. Not bad, could have done better without the corn. (188 characters)

With the fall season in full bloom, the notions of the dead revisiting the living in spirit, or otherwise, form stirs the curiosity in all of us. The Mexican culture celebrates this emotion like no other. So how do those brewers attach a taste to it? In beer of course!

Its gently burnt sweetness is of seared caramel, soft nuts, slightly of butterscotch and hints of cocoa and coffee- hedging some brown ale attributes. But garnering a bitter tone late, notes of bitter orange peel, pine and bark all round out the sweetness to finish.

Slight vegetation peaks through the starchy body and offers a sweet grilled corn character while the light alcohol spice builds in and assists the hops in drying. Playful astringency links up with resiny hops for a bitter aftertaste that outlasts the burnt caramel sweetness. (1,062 characters)

330ml bottle. As per usual, the beers of 'Worldwide Beverage Imports' have some confusion as to their points of origin.

This beer pours a clear, bright medium copper amber hue, with a teeming tower of puffy, frothy, and generally evocative of melted marshmallow tan head, which leaves some decent sticky webbed lacing around the glass as it quickly sinks away.

It smells of bready, sort of doughy caramel malt, stale and overripe apples, floral, leafy hops, and a touch of plastic astringency. The taste is more wan drupe fruit-influenced caramel malt, a bit of watery toffee, hints of darker fruit leanings, and leafy, weedy, and floral hops (a certain confusing perfumed character building as it warms).

The carbonation is quite understated in its near invisibility at times, the body medium-light in weight, rather thin, but ultimately smooth, I guess. It finishes off-dry, the waning bready caramel malt starting to develop a sense of isolation and loneliness.

Not the awful, skanky mess that I was anticipating, is about the best thing I can say about this - my suspicions are steeped in disappointment, I can assure you - still, this is but a plain and ineffective version of the style. Neutered hops and sluggish malt just don't cut it north (and north once again) of the border. (1,294 characters)

I had picked up four of the six beers in this series during a Veterans Day beer run to State Line Liquors in Elkton, MD and during my trip to Norfolk, VA last weekend, I stopped in at Total Wine & More and scored to other two. I LOVE the label art, I gotta say!

I used an aggro pour to get a pseudo-cascade going, which formed two fingers of fluffy, rocky, tawny head with nice retention.Color was a slightly hazy Coppery-Brown (SRM = > 13, < 17). Nose seemed awfully malty for an APA, kind of a nutty, caramel scent. Hmmm. Mouthfeel was medium. Taste had a metallic tang and a malty sweetness that were just no bueno for the style. Finish was light, semi-sweet and a real swing and a miss overall. I did get some nice sticky lacing, however, and since I really bought it for the label art and it was inexpensive, I guess that I got my money's worth. YMMV. (863 characters)

Was told that this beer was solid and decided to give it a try. Here goes:

A: Best thing about the beer. The color is a dark reddish-brown. The head is quite good, too. I got a massive head straight from the bottle with plenty of lacing. Good protein content.

S: OK, not too special though. Can smell a little bit of American cascade and chinook hops (this is to be expected given the style, APA). However, to my surprise, the beer's smell indicates the presence of caramel and amber malts - i.e., of the lightly-kilned variety.

T: Not bad. Presence of NW hops balanced by a very strong malt backbone. In fact, the malt actually predominates in this beer; it's more like an ESB with American hops. When you drink the beer, you're introduced to a ton of caramel, toffee and brown sugar. The hops coat the back of the palate and linger on after consumption.

M: Not bad, but not good either. Somewhat watery, but the flavor makes up for this deficiency. Lots of carbonation, which is good.

O: Good beer, but nothing to brag about. Would have it again. (1,053 characters)

This "Queen" is a bright amber-copper brew, pretty clear, with a reasonably well developed near-white head that manages some decent structure as well as stick.In both flavor and aroma, there's a fair depth and reasonable complexity under a pretty even balance of malt and hops. Appropriately, hops do come out just ahead, though it's certainly not as hop-heavy as many out there. In this one, A mix of citrus, leaf and grass is set in contrast to toast, caramel and a hint of toffee.The carbonation is firm, crispness as well but a little on the spritzy side with only a little structure to add smoothness, though it does. (624 characters)

Poured from a brown 11.2 oz. bottle. Has a auburn color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is mild, a bit of malts. Taste is full of caramel malts, a touch of hops, some sweetness, very easy drinking. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall, not what I would really expect from this style, but an enjoyable beer. (310 characters)

Poured into a Dogfish Head pint glass. Pours a medium to dark coppery amber with a nice two finger off-white head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of biscuit and faint toasted malt, light grassy hops, slightly vegetal. Flavor follows with biscuit malt, light grassy hops, finishing with slightly astringent grassy hops. Medium bodied. Considering the origins, not a bad pale ale, the beginning is full bodied malt with a proper hopping for a pale ale. The finish is a bit unbalanced, but overall, a drinkable inexpensive pale ale with a decent malt bill. I wouldn't seek this one out, but would be happy to get it again with a meal. (637 characters)

Some confusion over which location to review this beer. Looks the same as the bottle shown for the Porta Viarta (sp) location. Anyway pours a stellar clear medium amber with two fingers of cream colored head. Good amount of dense lacing until the head recedes about the halfway point.Smell is clean malty but pretty mild.Taste is big euro hop flavors with a good amount of bready malt backing.Mouthfeel is a bit thin like a lager and carbonation is higher than needed. Nice mildly dry bitter finish. The hops remind me of most euro pilsner type. Anyway it is a surprisingly tasty Pale Ale from a Mexican brewer. (Tecate?) Would not make my top 50 list of APAs but it is a fairly low abv 4.8% listed. (703 characters)

330 ml. bottle poured into a pint glass. Contract brewed? at Cerveceria Mexicana in Tecate under the Dia de los muertos/Day of the Dead line of Mexican craft beers. Pours quite clear and light copper in color, topped by a half inch of creamy off white foam and shows decent retention.

Aroma of light hops and some ruddy caramel. Not much as for depth,

Flavor follows the aroma with caramel and some chalky grain. Taste seems a bit old though no date code to be found for verification. Touch of citrus on a relatively brief finish.

Not bad but marginal in approach and light in delivery from all aspects. (607 characters)